The location of assets and of persons can be determined by transponders or active transmitters attached to respective assets and persons. The transponder emits an identity signal which can be received by receivers located at various locations, such as adjacent doors, in rooms, halls, etc. The receivers typically report the received signals to a central computer which can draw a map or update a database and thereby display the locations of the assets and persons. Assets which do not report their location, or which are identified to be at an unauthorized location, can cause the central computer to set off an alarm.
The transponder is typically attached to an asset or to a person by means of a strap which contains a conductor. Persons wishing to defeat the transponder will sometimes sever the strap to release the transponder from the asset and try to make off with the asset. However, severance of the strap causes severance of the conductor, which can be detected by the transponder, and which can transmit an alarm signal. A person who understands that severance of the strap will raise an alarm will sometimes short circuit the strap conductor, and then cut the strap, in order to defeat the severance detection circuitry of the transponder.
In addition, sometimes wear and flexing of the strap will cause the conductor or the connection to the conductor to break, which will be interpreted by the severance detection circuitry of the transponder as an attempted theft and therefore it will raise an alarm, even though there is no real threat of theft of the asset or location of a person in an unauthorized location.
In addition, in order to connect the conductor in the strap to the transponder, they must be carefully assembled in order to ensure that solid connections are made to the ends of the conductor. This has been found to be costly and clumsy.